Rebirth of Whirlpool
by Master Guardian
Summary: Naruto only wanted a quiet birthday, he didn't want to be bothered by the villagers or running for his life again, but what he wanted most of all was a friend. That wish however might be more then he bargained for... Fem.Kyuubi
1. Chapter 1

Rebirth of Whirlpool

Chp 1 Meeting the tenant

NarutoxKyubbi

The night was quiet in the majority of Konoha as everyone prepared for the festival that would take place tomorrow in celebration of the defeated Kyuubi, thanks to the Yondaime Hokage. Decorations were being placed along the roof lines on shops and houses, and the lights where being replaced by festive colored lanterns that lead a blinking way to the memorial stone where everyone would gather to remember those who had given their life to protect everyone. One boy, however, wasn't looking forward to the upcoming day, as it would mark his, Naruto's, sixth birthday. It also meant he would have to be extremely careful because that was usually when everyone would be at their worst, as they would most likely try to find and beat him like they had done his last two birthdays. He only lived because either the Anbu or the Hokage himself had shown up and saved him from the angry mob that gave chase every year. Naruto couldn't understand why everyone despised him so much, or why they called him demon and a monster, and why they wouldn't believe a word he said.

"I wish just one person would believe me" Naruto mumbled as he walked tiredly towards the main road of Konoha.

He had planned how to escape everyone this year by leaving a day early and camping out in the woods until the festival ended. He had managed to get all but a few supplies he'd need to stay out and away from everyone for the next week or so, and so far he had managed to keep everything a secret from everyone including the old man who he considered near family. As Naruto walked down the main street of Konoha towards the convenience store to get some extra food, he was aware that there were a few adults watching him. Getting nervous, he quickened his pace to his destination and quickly got what he needed, not even bothering to argue about the high price. He then ran as fast as he could back to his small apartment to wait for night to come before making his way out of the village. Night was falling quickly as Naruto got ready to leave. He began going through his house, making sure all valuable things where hidden away under the floor boards and that everything was locked in his house.

He sighed at the thought that he would probably have to replace most of his appliances again because he was sure the mob that would come looking for him tomorrow would steal as much as they could from him to make him suffer more. He really didn't understand why almost everyone was as hostile as they were towards him. He picked up the sack that had the last of the things he was taking with him. Peeking out his door he looked left and right to check if anyone was outside and when spotting no one, he stepped out carefully and set sack down to lock his house door, not that it would do any good. He couldn't count how many times he'd had to repair the door up until now, and hoped wistfully that for once maybe the villagers would just leave him alone.

Up in the Hokage tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked into his crystal ball one last time and watched Naruto leave his apartment. He smiled as he knew that the boy was trying to keep a low profile this year and after making sure Naruto wasn't being pursued he turned away from the ball and stood up. Signaling to his Anbu, three immediately appeared and knelt before the Hokage, awaiting their orders.

"Yugao I want you to keep an eye on Naruto tonight. Make sure he makes it to his destination safely and incapacitate anyone attempting to follow him." Sarutobi spoke sternly as Yugao nodded and left.

"Tenzo I want you to keep an eye on Naruto's apartment and should anyone try to enter I want you to incapacitate, bind and leave them in the Anbu prison." Nodding, Tenzo vanished with a poof, leaving a leaf behind as he left the Hokage alone with his last Anbu.

"As for you, I have a special mission for you regarding Naruto. I fear that as he grows older I won't be able to keep as much of a watchful eye on him, not to mention the fact that he will be starting the academy soon, so I really won't be able to watch him there as my presence would bring up a lot of questions." The Hokage said as he turned away from the Anbu and gazed out the window, looking over all of Konoha.

"This will be a long term mission, do you accept, Sandual?" Sarutobi asked as he watched the last rays of light leave the sky, being replaced by the moon as its silvery light started to flood over the rooftops. The silence that ensued was tense as the Anbu mulled over whether or not he would want to take on this task.

Elsewhere, Naruto had just managed to sneak past the remaining villagers as he left the immediate area of the village. Making his way into the woods he arrived at his camp as the last rays of sunlight faded from view and the moon rose up into the sky. Setting about and getting ready for bed, Naruto did a quick check-up, making sure that his trip wires were all set up in case someone got too close. When finally feeling safe, he laid down in his sleeping bag and was asleep almost instantly.

Smiling behind her mask, Yugao watched as Naruto slept and was glad that this was a fairly easy assignment. She could almost consider this a short mini vacation.

"_After all,__we are out of the way from the village and I will sense someone before they get near him,__so I might as well enjoy this little outing."_she thought as she relaxed on the branch she was on and drifted off into a half sleep mode as the moon rose up and over the tree tops. It wasn't long before the sound of snoring filled the area where Naruto slept, the shadows danced intricately across the clearing as the moon shifted positions.

As the moon rested on Naruto, he woke up unknowingly in his mind for the first time. Naruto was confused at first on how he ended up in the sewers when he couldn't remember even waking up or why he would be laying in a puddle in the first place. Looking around, he could see a few different walkways but was unsure where to go. Suddenly he felt the water tug at his legs, urging him down the left path. Going along with it, he followed the tunnel until he entered a large chamber that had a row of bars in the middle of the room that stretched from wall to wall. A piece of paper hung in the middle of the locked gate with the word 'Seal' written on it.

Walking up to the bars, it dawned on Naruto that it looked like a cage and that something dangerous may be on the other side, but that thought scurried away a moment later, as it does with children whose curiosity gets the best of them.

"Hello?" Naruto called out, his voice echoing around the room.

Nothing happened, and he was starting to think it was an empty room when he suddenly heard a splash of water  
.

"Hello!?" He called out a second time and got even closer to the bars. A second splash of water rung out as he heard a loud rumble before a giant fox crashed into the bars, startling Naruto and making him jump as the fox looked down at him with a glare on its face.

**"Why are you here,****human?" **The fox roared as it again crashed into the side of the cage, trying to break the bars.

**"Are you here to mock my imprisonment? Or****perhaps you have come to try and finish me off, that's it,****isn't it,****you little... little... child...?"** As the Kyuubi calmed down,it realized that all that stood before it was a mere child who looked like he could be blown away by a breeze at this point by how white he was from the shock.

**"Hey kit,****are you ok?" **The Kyuubi asked, concern edging into its voice as it gazed at the boy who was as still as a statue. Raising a tail, the Kyuubi let it slide past the bars and gently poked Naruto in the chest, dragging him from his stupor and causing him to fall on his butt before shaking his head in disbelief at what had just occurred. Reaching out, Naruto let his hand touch the tip of the tail before jerking back out of fear. When nothing happened, he tentatively reached out again and ran his fingers through the fox's fur before grabbing a hold of the tail, and with a little tug, the Kyubbi lifted Naruto back onto his feet. With a smile, Naruto rubbed his face in the fur before looking up at the foxes face and granting it with one of his smiles that could melt the world if it had a heart. The fox was no different as it took one look at the boy and decided to give him a chance to explain himself even though it was certain it knew who he was.

**"Who are you,****child,****and why are you here?"** The fox grumbled out as it lay down in front of the gate, one eye facing Naruto, watching him continue to play with the tail.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki and I really don't know how I got here. I went to sleep and now I'm here..." He said quietly before looking up at the fox.

"Who are you? And why are you in a cage?" Naruto asked as he let go of the tail and walked right up to the bars.

The Kyubbi looked at him at what could be guessed as disbelief.

**"I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and I am sealed in this cage because of the Fourth Hokage..."**

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi with confusion before stepping into the cage and walking right up to the Kyuubi where he placed a hand on its face,surprising the fox in the process.

"You're not gobbling me up right now? I thought you were supposed to be a mean scary fox that destroyed everything, right?" he said as he buried his face in the fur.

"Why is everyone afraid of you, you're not doing anything wrong in here." Naruto said,continuing to fire off questions as he tried to figure everything out. He was starting to get really confused by everything he had learned in the village because everyone made the nine tails out to be a big bad monster that would eat you if it could reach you. And yet here he was, petting the supposed monster and felt perfectly safe.

The Kyuubi was at a loss for words, and then with a thought it started to laugh. It liked this kid even though it had only been a few minutes since they had met. He was completely different from any other person the Kyuubi had encountered save one, who had been the creator of it and the other nine Biju that roamed the lands.

**"Naruto, I am trapped in here for the time being because of the attack several years ago. I am, however, not evil like you said and I am glad that at least one person realizes it. Secondly, we are currently inside your mindscape. In simple words, we are inside your imagination. I am your prisoner and you are my guard." **

The Kyuubi looked at Naruto again, its red eyes flashing as it sat up on its hindquarters and began to shrink down in size until all that stood before Naruto was a beautiful woman with long red hair and crimson eyes. Behind her he could still see her tails swishing around randomly and on top of her head resided two fox like ears that twitched. It dawned on him a moment later that she was completely naked and he hurriedly turned around and waited for her to put some clothes on.

Unsure as to why he had looked away from her, the Kyuubi walked to him and placed a hand gently on his shoulder before turning him to face her and then she giggled at his red face. A moment later her tails wrapped around her, covering her body for the time being as she waited until he met her eyes.

Naruto looked up carefully, afraid of being punished for looking and finally met her eyes. Crimson met blue. Blushing again, he looked away shyly, as he wasn't sure what to say now. Deciding that she'd had enough, the woman took a hold of Naruto's chin and forced him to meet her eyes. Once they met she smiled and extended a hand to him.

"I'm Kivira" She said as he took her hand and sort of shook it, still not believing what was going on but just kind of accepting it. He had actually met someone outside the village who wasn't about to kill him for existing. Smiling back, Naruto nodded as he walked forward and tentatively hugged her without thinking about it. Caught in surprise, Kivira just placed a hand on his head and smiled down at the child who was suddenly attached to her, even though he knew that she had basically demolished half the hidden village and killed many ninja who had died defending it, including his mother and father. That was something he needed not knowing of at the moment.

Pushing him to arms reach, she looked him over,noting that he indeed bore a great resemblance to the Yondaime Hokage. The thought, however, lingered a moment longer as she envisioned what he would look like, grown up like that; a strong and powerful ninja with the looks to charm a woman, and a body that would drive all the ladies wild. Her thoughts ended there as she reminded herself he was only just a child, but perhaps years from now, she could make him her own, maybe even by force if he turned out how she imagined. Grinning her foxlike grin, she grabbed Naruto's hand and told him to walk with her.

"Naruto, this place is called your mindscape.It's here I currently reside and also where you are safest from the outside world. You can make this place anything you want as long as you will it to be here." She finished, hinting that a change of scenery would be nice. Sadly, Naruto was still only 5 and didn't pick up on said hint and didn't bother changing anything as he was more curious to explore the sewer and find out what it was like.

Naruto just nodded rapidly as he pulled Kivira towards the back of the room, wanting to know what was in there. He got to the end of the room and looked left and right, seeing just an expanse of wall, and he wondered if there was anything inside this cage or if this was where Kivira always had to stay.

"Kivira, aren't you able to leave this cage and wander around?" Naruto asked as he turned around to look at her.

She just shook her head in response and he saw the sad look on her face. Scrunching up his face in concentration, Naruto thought really hard of a place he had dreamed about a lot and suddenly he could see it through his eyelids. A moment later he opened his eyes to see that they were standing above a large forest, with trees that surrounded a lake. The leaves on all of the trees where a crimson red color and the sun made them cast a brilliant red shade all over.

Naruto had about a moment longer before logic set in that he was flying and then he proceeded to plummet both himself and Kivira into the lake below them. A moment later he came spluttering to the surface with Kivira right next to him and they both swam to the water's edge and climbed out. A look at each other caused them to burst out laughing as they began to dry off. Naruto turned red again as Kivira unwound her tails from her body to shake the water out, leaving her exposed to him again. He could see how defined her breast were and how lithe her body was shaped, and he found her tails extremely interesting as they all moved about, fanning themselves of water. He just stood there oogling her as she finished drying off. Noticing the looks, she turned and smirked while posing for him

"You like what you see, Naruto?" she asked devilishly as he quickly turned around.

His face went even redder than before. Smiling, she wrapped her tails around herself again as she looked around at where they were and she decided that she liked it. She could easily cut some of these trees down and build a house of some sort for her to stay in and the exercise would be fun. Finally she walked up to Naruto and let a tail slink over his shoulder and slide across his face, making him tense up.

"Thank you" she said as she turned him around and hugged him. Naruto just smiled as he hugged her back and then looked around at the place he had created.

"Glad you like it" He said as he suddenly felt a pull on himself that was making him start to vanish. He was confused and began to panic. Kivira laid a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down.

"You're just waking up." she said as she vanished from sight. Suddenly, Naruto bolted upright from his sleep to see the sun had already risen to midday above him. He had slept a long time. He wasn't sure if it had all been a dream or if it had really happened, but he knew he had to get a move on with the day because it was his birthday after all and he wanted it to be a good day, preferably without any villagers attacking him.


	2. Chapter 2

Rebirth of Whirlpool

Chapter 2 Realizing I'm not alone

NarutoxKyuubi

Naruto got up from his makeshift bed and checked his supply of food to make sure he would have enough food to last him the next few days. After making sure it was up safe where animals wouldn't get into it he went about checking out the area and then wandered in a random direction until he came across a stream that was snaking its way through the forest heading to who knows where. Naruto decided to entertain himself by walking along the stream and see where it led. He was certain that he was slowly moving farther away from the village, it was just a feeling but one that he didn't really mind. It was hard enough to sneak around let alone actually leave the village itself which he thought was odd as it all came together in his mind. Nearly everyone hated him there and yet they refused to allow him to leave the village on the many occasions he tried to.

Shrugging it off Naruto continued on for awhile longer until he found the source of the stream which turned out to be a underground hot spring that seemed unused. It was the perfect spot he thought to himself to relax for a little while. Stripping off his shoes pants shirt, Naruto stopped to contemplate where or not to remove his boxers as well _'No one is around to see me anyways' _he thought as the last of his clothing came off.

Up in a tree a little bit away Yugao smirked as she watched Naruto jump into the spring. She smiled happily that he was free to enjoy himself for once without people harassing him and decided to let him have his privacy. Casting a simple alert jutsu to know when he was out of the water she sushined away to relax again. Landing on a tree a little bit away she kicked back and enjoyed the warm air that was blowing around her. _'I'll have to come back when he isn't around for a warm soak maybe...' _her mind trailed off as sleep claimed her again.

Back in Konoha, Tenzo had just finished his fixing of Narutos apartment door for the 7th time today as more people had shown up trying to harass the kid for something out of his control. It got to the point that He had made a clone of himself to stand watch and trap anyone who approached the complex since only two people lived there, Naruto and the landlord himself. It was with a small sense of pride however he gave Naruto a surprise present, by remodeling his apartment on the inside after getting the landlords permission to combine two of the rooms and after using his special jutsu had fortified the wood making it to the point you would have to be trying to blow up the entire section of the village to break in which was fine because it meant that he would at least be safe in his own home. It was with that thought that Tenzo decided to have a break and left the property under the care of his clone for a short duration. Of which he went inside and slept for a half hour to get some of his energy back.

About an hour of bouncing between the hot spring and grass, Naruto finally had spent enough time in the water that he could see his skin looking pruny and decided to head back to his camp. He made note of this place to visit it as a remote get away. With that a smile spread across his face as he realized he had a place that he knew about that no one else did. His secret location. Naruto then began his journey back following the stream once more to find his way back to camp, which conveniently had him walk under the tree that Yugao was sitting in. As he was passing the wind caught Yugao scent and carried it down to him causing him to stop and look around before glancing up, and not seeing anything as Yugao had moved out of sight before he spotted her. Naruto brushed it off as flowers and continued walking along the water until he came upon his camp, and then with a sigh of frustration pulled at his hair as he saw that the food he had brought with him had fallen, and the animals had clearly gotten a hold of it.

"_Some birthday this is turning into..." _he thought as he salvaged what was left of the food and carried all the bad scraps away from where he was sleeping and tossed them into the woods. Turning around he got back to the camp and got the rest of his stored away. He realized he would have enough for the night and maybe tomorrow unless he wanted to try and sneak into the village and get more food... the thought died with a shake of the head as he thought about what would happen if he was caught. ?He was going to try and ration out his food.

Fifteen minutes later Naruto had dug into some of the food and ate it ravenously as he forgot to eat breakfast when he woke up. He sighed as the rest of the food looked even better with every second that passed. He tried really hard to distract himself from the temptation to eat but after 30 minutes of maybe just one and just a nibble all the food was gone and he was sitting on the ground sad at the prospect of what he would have to do. Either I have to try and catch a animal to eat and risk a fire or try and sneak into the village and get some food...

Naruto tried he really did to avoid going into the village but after 2 hours of trying to catch any animal and then finally catching a rabbit and then letting it go because he couldn't bring himself to try and kill it, his stomach growled again louder then before as he watched the rabbit hop away quickly. Sighing Naruto decided to distract himself for the next few hours with some ninja training as he hoped to get into the academy in once the new semester started.

Pulling out a few throwing stars, Naruto took aim at a tree and began throwing them. Most missed but he kept at it for a hour, using all that he had and then going to retrieve them. It was with a sigh of satisfaction that he had managed to land 7 stars in a row out of the 13 he had. He had only been practicing for a month now ever since he convinced the Hokage to help him join the academy to train as a ninja. He figured another month or two and he would get all 13 in a row but until then just practicing would be enough. Gathering up his throwing stars and storing them back in the pouch he had brought with him, he made sure it was concealed with everything else. Deciding that it was time for him to head back towards the village Naruto began the short trek taking a more scenic route that would give him a great view of the sky and also make his walk a bit longer to kill a bit more time. The sky had turned a vibrant orange as the suns base touched the ground, sending rays of light all over the place bringing a happy feeling to Naruto as he made it to a small clearing with a hill in the middle that rose up with a single tree in the middle. Naruto stopped for a moment to look at the tree, caught up in the color of the leaves that reminded him of the dream he had last night. All the leaves on this tree were a crimson red and where the light hit them it cast a red glow making the ground below it look like a pool of blood. A strange feeling welled up in Naruto urging him to walk up to touch the tree, and before he knew it he was on the edge of red light surrounding the tree. He stood for a moment debating whether or not to reach out and with a moment of hesitation he drew back away from the tree.

He hadn't realized until just that moment he was shaking all over and when he turned around he thought he could see something skirting along the edge of the clearing. Staring hard at it he thought it looked like a fox but he wasn't sure, it was with that moment he realized a full moon stood high in the sky. Had he really been standing by that tree for more then a hour, it only felt like a few minutes but as he ran through the woods he was having a really hard time seeing and several times barely managed to not crash into trees.

He finally made it to the village breathing hard as he entered, It was really quiet so he assumed that everyone was in bed by now. He ran quickly down the main street towards one of the academy buildings where he kept a spare stash of food in case his house was raided. He got in and out ok, but when he made his way back up the road he could hear several people talking loudly as they came into sight. A group of men one of which where carrying alcohol were in the high spirits of the celebration and Naruto picked up what they where talking about...

"-brat hasn't been seen since yesterday, several people went to his hovel and tried to get him out but they were all taken in by ANBU..." one said as he caught the guy next to him who stumbled down the road.

"Yea I shawww him yester... rope, probably hunnhg himself in the woods" the drunken guy carrying the liquor slurred out as he gazed up at the sky zoning out a bit.

"It wouldn't matter much to me, good riddance to the nine tailed brat, Just a monster that needs to be killed so that he cant hurt anyone else..." Said the only sober one of the group, it was at that moment that he turned and saw Naruto frozen in place at what he had just heard. The surprise caused him to stop making the two guys behind him walk into him and then fall over. They all looked at the guy who stopped then gazed in his directions in time to see Naruto turn and run.

It was a more a garbled cry out then the actual two words yelled but nonetheless "Found him!" was hollered and soon lights went up all around Naruto as people came out of there houses to see what the ruckus was about. A few men who had saw him run by quickly gave chase with more people adding to the quickly growing crowd that followed him as he snaked his way through the village. Yugao watched in disbelief at how the village was acting towards Naruto and wished she had intervened when she heard the group coming, She had made the assumption that Naruto would hide but for some reason he froze in the middle of the street and now he was on the run. She quickly traveled across the roof tops to get in front of the group and cast a Genjutsu on the oncoming rampage of people quickly stopping them in there tracks, but in the process lost track of Naruto.

Naruto kept running, he passed a bunch of villagers who just yelled at him for shoving passed but he didn't care, he just wanted to get away form everyone so that he was safe, just this one time where no one would hurt him. He made it back out of the gates unaware that a lowrank ninja was watching him from the rooftops and began to follow him. He had made it out of the village and stopped for a moment to catch his breath, at that moment he heard a whizzing noise and luckily turned at the same moment as a kunai slid across his cheek cutting him. He turned to see the ninja on a branch above him grabbing more kunai to throw, that was his cue to dive headfirst into the woods again and running as fast as he could. He vaguely recalled the path he took that led him the small clearing and hoped that the ninja couldn't keep up even as he saw more kunai fly over head and thunk into trees around him.

"Come on you little monster, its time for you to pay for the murder on your hands." The ninja yelled as he began to get frustrated that he couldn't hit the kid.

"You may have the Hokage under a spell, but not me. I WILL KILL YOU and become a hero of this village!" He cried out as he chased Naruto.

Breaking through the trees Naruto reached the clearing just as the ninja made a dive for him. He dove and rolled to the side narrowly avoiding the ninja who had landed and was getting up. Naruto quickly saw the tree from earlier and ran past it making a run for the other side of the clearing only to be tackled to the ground as the ninja finally caught him.

"Please dont hurt me I never did anything to anyone please!" Naruto begged as he tried to defend himself.

He tried to fight back but the guy grabbed a hold of the fist aimed at him and punched Naruto in the gut driving all the air from his lungs. Naruto felt another punch and then another and another with a fourth one that hit him in the face dazing him. The guy on top of him smirked as he spit on Naruto and got up stomping his foot into Naruto's shoulder making him scream out in pain as he got kicked in the side and then the head bringing him near blackness. He could barely see the guy as he saw him pull out a kunai and raise it above his head.

"Please no... I... don't …wanna... die" He coughed out as blood splattered the ground making him

choke.

It hurt to much to move as Naruto watched him bring the knife down and his eyes widened as he felt the tip pierce his stomach and sink down into him. A second scream ripped through the night as Naruto thrashed around on the ground as the guy stabbed him again causing him to spit up more blood and his breathing slowed.

"Good riddance freak." The guy said getting up delivering a final kick to Naruto who didnt even feel it as his eyes began to darken. The guy made it only two steps before he heard a growl and turned to see a fox with nine tails standing right next to him. He never had a chance as the fox jumped on him and bit through his neck crushing it and separating his head from the body. Turning it moved quickly to Narutos side and nuzzled its head against his cheek as the red chakra poured around him. The foxes image changed into Kivira as she placed his head into her lap and with desperation in her eyes began to heal him. She could feel his heart starting to beat faster until it was back to its normal rate and the bruises and wounds began to heal and fade quickly. She smiled for a moment before her eyes flashed, burning with anger at the village responsible for what happened. She had watched unable to do anything when he was chased besides lend him some chakra to run faster, until now when Naruto made it back here and she was able to semi manifest herself while he was in danger. She could feel his life racing back to him as he gasped and tried to sit up only to be held in place by her hands on his shoulder.

"Shh Naruto your safe now" she whispered as he looked at her with recognition. She ran her fingers through his hair as he took notice of a round shape on the ground. Before he could even get up to look at what it was it spontaneously caught fire and was burned away, he only caught a glimpse of a face of pure terror before it was gone completely. Only a slight scorch mark marked where the body had been.

"Kivira... did I, did I kill him? Naruto asked as his voice came out shaky at possibly being the monster everyone claimed him to be.

"No Naruto you did not, a animal got him because he was a terrible ninja." She spoke calmly trying to put his mind at ease.

"Are you lying to me? Naruto asked with as much authority a six year old could muster "I can tell when people are lying to me" he stated as he sat up and looked at her.

"Of course not, I saw a animal, A fox specificly kill him" She said matter of fact like as she looked him dead in the eye. It wasn't a lie technically because it was a animal, but it was also her that had been that animal. She didn't want Naruto to think badly of her so she kept that part to herself for the time being as she pulled him back into her lap and held him. It was intriguing that she was feeling such strong protective instincts towards him.

Naruto just kinda sat in her lap for awhile before he drifted off to sleep, Kivira smiled at him sleeping soundly in her lap. She wrapped two of her tails around him to keep him warm and used the rest to lay on like a bed as she drifted off to sleep next him her cuddled against her. Her last thought was a determination to find a way to permanently be out of the seal that bound her in his body without killing him so that she could protect him.

Birds chirped with the rise of the sun as it lit up the sky in a bloody red glow. All of the villagers ho woke up early enough to see it felt shivers run through there body at the sight. Someone had died last night and it would take about half a day for the ninja to be noticed as missing and 3 days later to determine him dead or rouge. As Naruto woke up he was greeted with the sight of red as Kivira's hair was in his face. He spluttered for a moment and tried to get up only to feel her tails tighten slightly around him keeping him near her. He waited a moment before trying again this time successfully disentangling himself from her and stretching from his sleep. He saw his pack that he had grabbed last night was still lying on the ground and still full of food upon closer inspection.

Naruto was famished but he walked over to Kivira and sat down waiting for her to wake up. He didnt wait to long as he gazed up at the sky that was starting to clear of its red tinge giving way for the blue that broke free as a tail swatted him in the back of the head.

"Hey what was that for!?" He asked as he turned to look at the offender.

She just smiled and spoke simply "You woke me up"

Naruto just looked at her dumbfounded for a moment before shrugging and pulling out some bread offered her half. She looked at it for a moment before declining.

"I don't need to eat, as I am still just sort of here Naruto." Kivira said unsure how best to explain how she was able to be here talking to him outside of his mind.

"Eat it, you need your strength after last nights ordeal." She said to which Naruto just nodded and began to eat setting half back into the pack for later and pulling out some dried fruit and meat.

Once he was done he repacked it carefully and then looked at Kivira with a questioning look.

"Did last night really happen, did I almost die?" Naruto asked quietly as he sat down.

"Sadly yes, I cannot believe the extent to which this village treats you. You should be a hero for this place!" Kivira said starting to get worked up again over how she felt towards the hidden leaf and the urge if she could leave this place burn it all to the ground.

"So then the night before wasn't a dream either, you really do exist." Naruto said as a small smile spread across his face.

"Does this mean I have a friend now?" He asked with so much hope in his voice and face it made Kivira heart break a little at how alone he really was.

"Yes I will always be with you, Naruto." she said with a smile as Naruto broke down in tears as he basicly tackled her and hugged her.

"Naruto, you should understand though three things at the present time. One, it would be in your best interest not to tell anyone about me. Two, you can always see me in your mindscape and I will show you how, so I will always be with you. And finally three, You can talk to me any time because I am in your mind, Just try it now and think of something you would want me to know."

Naruto thought for a moment then asked out loud "Do you like ramen?" to which Kivira face planted into the ground before responding in his mind, _"Never tried it"_ The look of horror on Narutos face was amusing to say the least. _"Oh one more thing Naruto, just think what you want to say, don't say it out loud or people will start to think your crazy on top of everything else" _Kivira explained to him as he nodded over and over again.

Kivira just smiled as she watched him, it would be a interesting few years to watch him grow up. She would help him to become strong and hopefully find a way out on the way but until then she would have a bit more patience.

"Naruto, you should probably return to your camp and get your belongings, return to the village so the Hokage knows you are safe." Kivira told him in a non negotiable voice as she stood up and with a quick movement lifted Naruto up onto his feet and handed him his pack. She knew a few people where watching over him, but he couldn't be watched over forever. Once the academy starts and he learns the basics we can go form there she thought. Naruto hugged Kivira one more time before he started to walk away from her expecting her to follow, but was confused as she stood there staring at the tree with the red leaves.

"Kivira are you coming" He asked as he waited for her to get a move on. She just looked at him and giggled "I'm already with you remember."

Naruto just nodded as he remembered and then began to walk again. He go to the edge of the clearing when he heard Kivira call his name stopping and looking back at her she quickly moved to him. Walking over to him she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and when he turned red from embarrassment she just smiled at him and said sweetly "I know its a little late Naruto but Happy Birthday."

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**Authors note**

Hey guys sorry it took so long to get the second chapter up, I am still currently looking for a new beta reader and if anyone has/knows one they are willing to share it would greatly speed up my upload time because i only have so much time in the day to write and then edit everything i wrote. Gotta make sure its perfect right? ^-^

On a side note otherwise I'm really enjoying writing and hope you guys enjoy my writing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: This is my apartment right?

Naruto sighed, as he left the clearing again for the last time in the week he had been staying out in the woods waiting for the celebration to die down. It was time to go back to his little apartment back in the village and at the same time he was certain that it would probably just be better to live out here for the rest of his life. It was only because of Kivira that he was even going back to the cheap apartment and to try and deal with the villagers and ninja alike.

Last night in the clearing she said "You will be safer in the village for now, more so than you would trying to live in this world at least." Naruto just scoffed as he watched her while she sat in the firelight with all her tails puffed up soaking in the warmth. He kept finding himself entranced by the tails as they reflected and shimmered in the light. Every time he would start to space out and wouldn't hear a word Kivira was saying until she would wave a hand in front of him drawing his attention to her again.

Kivira found it amusing that he would get so sidetracked by her tails when they were talking or making plans for the upcoming months that at first it wasn't a problem but after a few days she was so annoyed with him that she would only allow him to come see her during the night. That was the second reason he was put in a bad mood because he enjoyed seeing her all day and night and she had limited him on how much time he could be around her. She did say at that it was only until he could stay focused and not get distracted by "shiny objects" as she put it when she tossed a small ball of fire at him bringing his attention back tenfold.

Otherwise though he loved listening to her tell him about what she had done prior to ending up inside of him.

"I used to pose as a traveler back when the villages hadn't been formed. Just a bunch of little towns to travel and trade with, money wasn't exactly around back then. Everything was on a barter system" when she looked at Naruto she just saw a blank look as he tried to figure out what that meant.

Laughing at his unknowingness she continued

"It's where people would trade items, like vegetables for meat or animals for equipment or clothing. Stuff like that" She said as she tried to make him understand. He just nodded in acceptance of what she was saying and left it at that. It was with the end of that conversation that a new one started up about why he, Naruto wanted to become a ninja. He just got quiet for a moment as he thought really hard about it. It was several minutes before he even looked at Kivira again and he had a strange look on his face.

"I dont really know, I have this dream now and then about two people, a red haired woman and a blond man, and I see them fighting to protect me, and I want to be like them, no I mean I want to be stronger than them so I can protect them, whoever they are..." He trailed off as he went back to thinking about why he wanted to really be a ninja. He hadn't a clue really but he felt it in him that that was what he had to do at least at the start anyways.

Kivira just smiled and nodded as she watched the moon drift on overhead. Tonight was the last night she would be out like this for a bit she felt as she again looked at her hand again and could see that it was solid and yet, she was like a ghost, still she was partially out of the seal, like a clone perhaps and this tree was what let her be out and about she was certain of that.

"Naruto, can you do me a favor once you're back in the village?" She asked as she continued to stare at the sky.

"What is it?" Naruto asked curious as to what she would want.

"Oh just the simple request that you stay safe while in the village, I can protect you a little bit but you are so young now that any chakra shift could harm your body if used to much." She said as she looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine..." he said as he then got swatted upside the head again.

"Gahhhh... why do you keep hitting me!" Naruto yelled as he jumped up and looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Because I can" she said with a smirk as she too get up and extinguished the fire that had been roaring on the ground.

"It's time for you to go home ok." she said with a tone that meant no arguing. Naruto just nodded went back to his camp to rest for a few hours before he would venture back.

Naruto was drawn out of the memory as he saw the village walls up ahead and hurried to get back into the village. Hoping that no one would spot him and that he could get home safely, Naruto ran through the gate and down the main road as it was still early in the morning and people where still just getting up. He had slowed to a walk at this point as his apartment came into view and was amazed that graffiti didn't cover the walls, and even more surprised as he climbed the stairs that his door was intact.

Naruto was on high alert because something wasn't right, usually he would come home and the door would be off its hinges, the windows would be shattered and garbage and debris would litter the area. Edging the door open Naruto stood dumbstruck as he got his first glance at what he thought was his apartment. It was completely redone; the entrance opened up into a large open room that Naruto guessed was his entire flat, had been cleared out and replaced with an entire exercise area along with a few training dummies and combat stands. Along the wall were shelves that were mostly empty but one held kunais stars and a few shurikans. Beyond that the room led to another door, which as he opened it up found that the neighboring apartment had been attached and sealed to his.

His bedroom was on one side taking up half of the apartment and he had a new bed that was twice as big as his old one although he was happy to see his blankets and items of random collecting where all on top of it. Ducking out of the room he found that the next room was a bathroom with a larger shower that had two heads and enough room to fit probably three people comfortably. Smiling he went to check out the final room an wasn't too surprised to find it was a kitchen, although he was surprised to see everything in it was new although some of his older salvages still remained but he was ok with that.

Naruto felt slightly overwhelmed at this point and wondered who would do something so nice for him. He only had one friend who nobody could know about, not that he wanted to share her with anyone else anyways but it definitely wasn't her. He thought hard about it and decided that the only one who could have done this was the Hokage but then, who would have rebuilt the two apartments into one? The question ran through his head for a while he checked to see if there was anything else in the house he missed, and it wasn't until the third time through that he realized there was a door that blended into the wall, He walked up to it but couldn't find a door handle and was unsure how to go about opening it. After a half hour of trying he gave up and went back to his bedroom to sleep in a bed again.

Kivira smiled as she saw Naruto appear outside the house she had spent the last few days working on. She was content so long as she was occupied and it had been a little project to do although now that it was nearly complete she wasn't sure what she would do in the future. The freedom from the cage had worn itself strongly on her and now she was desperate to keep her second enemy away, boredom...

"Naruto, your sleeping again... did that little walk tucker you out" She said playfully as he drew near.

Naruto stopped and looked embarrassed before trying to deny that he wasn't tired but couldn't think of anything to say otherwise, to which Kivira laughed and beckoned him inside. Naruto wandered through the door and finally got a good look at what she had been up to the past week. She hadn't let him in with the reasoning that she wanted it to remain standing when he was visiting. He could only look at her with a grumpy face as they walked over to the only tree that had grown next to the lake and sat down in the shade.

"Naruto it's only until it is finished so you don't destroy it by accident." Kivira had said with a mischievous look on her face.

That was two days ago and now he was glad he had waited, the inside was just aweing of the fact and detail that was cut into the wood. The most prominent one was the drawing of the Nine-tails in the middle of the ceiling with its tails fanned out in a circle around it. Connected to those tails where the other eight tailed beast with a tail linking to the Kyuubi's tail as they looked to be reaching out to their own little worlds. It was interesting to see how it started with the one tails on the left and circling down and around to the right side up to the eighth tail.

The angle made it seem like a swirl or a whirlpool with the Kyuubi being the center, the ninth tail itself showed a person standing on it but Naruto wasn't sure who it could be so he didn't dwell on it long. As he looked further from the tailed beast he could see a circle that wrapped around the center like the world, in the top part it showed fire burning through a forest until it came upon wind where the fire arched backwards as the air pushed it in on itself. Below the wind, mountains rose up reaching into clouds where lightning bolts arced back down from the clouds striking the ground as the clouds extended over the water bringing rain into the fire completing the circle.

On the farthest part of the drawing there was just village symbols, two of which Naruto recognized but one that he wasn't sure what it meant. The one he knew was the Leaf village's symbol, the other one was the swirl on his shirt. He was surprised to see it here because he had yet to figure out what it meant and hadn't heard of it being anywhere outside the village.

Turning to Kivira Naruto pointed at the swirl and asked "What is this symbol Kivira?" She turned and looked at the one he pointed at and smiled.

"That represents Whirlpool... they were allied to the Leaf village back before you were born but they were destroyed by other ninja nations." Kivira said as she watched Naruto's reaction. It wasn't much but she saw a look of sadness briefly cross his face before it came back with a inquisitive one.

"Are there any ninja left from that village? Are they here in the Leaf?" Naruto asked as he

"Are there any people form that nation left?" He asked curiously as he wanted to know, the thought of an entire village being completely wiped out scared him and although he didn't have much sympathy for the leaf village itself he would never wish that upon the same people.

"There are a few who are a part of the village that remain and others who have the blood of village still pumping through their veins, you yourself are amongst those few, if that was why you wondered." Kivira said as she watched Naruto's face get slightly sad.

"Di...d...did they die with the rest?" Naruto asked with a slight quiver in his voice as he realized this could be why he has no family here in the Leaf Village.

Kivira just looked sadly at his state but was glad to at least tell him that no they hadn't died during the villages destruction. She explained that they had died defending the village from her when she was forced into a rampage but decided to hold back on who they were for the time being. Naruto just smiled as he let the thoughts float away for the time being and just hugged Kivira as she smiled and wrapped her arms around him in return. He was happy to at least have her so for now things where ok in his mind.

After that they went about talking about plans for the academy and how Naruto planned to get through the next few years of training to become a ninja. He wasn't really sure what to expect besides being able to use jutsus and fight with people a lot to defend himself and the village he represented. He figured that it was still his home for the time being and decided that it would be his place to protect besides himself and Kivira.

They spent another hour talking it over before Kivira told him that she wanted to rest so she told him to head back out and get a start on the day to which Naruto nodded and walked back outside with Kivira following him. She gave him a hug as he began to fade and a moment later was gone.

Naruto woke up and was confused at first as to where he was because his room was reversed. It took a moment for everything to come back to him from earlier in the day and remembered that his place had been remodeled randomly while he had been gone but he was happy that nothing was stolen or broken for once so he wasn't about to call attention to it and ask around.

Hopping out of bed Naruto went to the kitchen and made some ramen before leaving the apartment heading towards the Hokage's building. He arrived after a short time, and quickly run up and through the building before bursting through the door into the office where Sarutobi sat waiting.

"I see someone has forgotten how to knock again..." Sarutobi said with a smile as he rose from his chair and walked over to Naruto placing an arm on his shoulder.

"Hey old man, yea sorry about that I just wanted to come see you about starting at the academy this year" Naruto said with a sheepish look as he hoped that it would be allowed.

"Naruto I'm surprised you changed your mind, I thought you were going to learn how to be a ninja all on your own but I'm glad you finally see it my way. Of course you will be allowed to attend and all the paperwork is already done and processed so you will start in one week." Sarutobi said as he patted Naruto's head and then sat back down.

Naruto just smiled and thanked him before turning and running out the door again. He was happy that at least he could start to learn the basics and then hopefully he could learn enough to survive on his own.

"_Finally I can get __stronger" _Naruto thought as he walked home.

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Author note

Sorry guys that it took so long to get this up i had the worst writers block trying to make this longer before realizing i could just end it where it was and just start a new chapter which already took off so hopefully i can make up for my absence with 4 sooner then projected.

Also sorry that the chapter is shorter then the others I was spending to much time on word counts and yea time became my enemy. sorry guys again lol

Noblesse Oblige MG


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